Economy

• Wednesday, April 27th 2011 - 15:27 UTC

  Helped by import restrictions, Argentina’s March trade surplus soars 141%

  

  Argentina's March trade surplus more than doubled (up 141%) from the same month last year to 667 million US dollars according to official data, helped by the government’s import curbs and stronger grains exports. Trade surplus in March 2010 was 276 million USD.

• Wednesday, April 27th 2011 - 15:14 UTC

  Mercosur supports tourism industry with improved data and investment promotion

  

  Mercosur country members with support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Tourism Organization will cooperate in the promotion of tourism focusing on improved and harmonized statistics, strengthening governance and promoting investment in the industry in the region.

• Wednesday, April 27th 2011 - 11:11 UTC

  Brazil’s strong currency fuels current account deficit in March

  

  Brazil's current account deficit ballooned to a record for the month of March as foreign companies in Brazil sent more profits home and Brazilians spent more on travel and goods overseas.

• Wednesday, April 27th 2011 - 08:54 UTC

  Brazil’s five largest airports will be managed under concession by private sector

  

  Brazil is planning to hand over the country's five largest airports to the private sector through concession agreements, in an effort to accelerate upgrades ahead of two major international events, Brazilian presidential Chief of Staff Antonio Palocci said Tuesday.

• Wednesday, April 27th 2011 - 08:34 UTC

  Brazilian government trying to calm inflation fears; warns of ‘prolonged effort’

  

  Brazil’s central bank President Alexandre Tombini admitted that slowing inflation back to target next year will require a “prolonged” and incisive effort.

• Wednesday, April 27th 2011 - 08:26 UTC

  Fiat will manufacture in Argentina combines and specialty tractors for Latam

  

  Italy’s Fiat Industrial, through its affiliate CNH, will set up a plant in Argentina to manufacture powerful combines and specialty tractors destined for the Latin American market. The plant will create some 600 direct and 1,500 indirect jobs, CNH said in a statement on Tuesday.

• Wednesday, April 27th 2011 - 02:07 UTC

  Food and fuel prices threaten to derail Asian economies, warns ADB

  

  Soaring food and fuel prices are threatening to derail growth in Asian economies, according to a report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The bank has warned that if food and fuel prices continue to surge, economic growth in the region could be reduced by up to 1.5% this year.

• Tuesday, April 26th 2011 - 16:47 UTC

  Toyota production cuts in Mercosur plants because of Japan parts shortage

  

  Toyota executives in Brazil and Argentina announced they are cutting production at two assembly plants for three days because they don’t have enough parts from Japan due to the recent earthquake and tsunami.

• Tuesday, April 26th 2011 - 16:10 UTC

  Paraguay has over a million hectares planted with corn

  

  Paraguay is experiencing a boom in corn with an area planted of over a million hectares compared to 600.000 hectares a year ago, according to the country’s Soybean Farmers’ Association president agronomist Francisco Regis Mereles.

• Tuesday, April 26th 2011 - 05:49 UTC

  Price of farmland in Uruguay increased on average 13% during 2010

  

  The average price for a hectare of farmland in Uruguay during 2010 increased 13% and reached 2.650 US dollars. The average farmland hectare in 2009 was 2.239 USD.